Interactive voice response (IVR) systems allow computer systems to interact with humans during telephone calls. Specifically, IVR systems detect voice and touch-tone input from the caller and respond with pre-recorded or dynamically-generated audio menus to further direct the call (e.g., call forwarding).
IVR systems are generally used by enterprises in virtually every type of industry to provide customer service via the telephone, e.g., credit card companies, consumer product companies, law offices, government agencies, etc. IVR systems are useful because of their ability to handle large call volumes, direct calls to appropriate extensions, and perform tasks that do not require human interaction (e.g., to make a payment over the phone). As such, IVR systems can save costs by reducing the need for personnel to handle calls.
Although IVR systems are useful in this regard, they fall short for a variety of reasons. For example, a caller is required to listen to each available menu choice before making a selection. This can be very frustrating, especially when the audio messages are long, numerous, and/or delivered slowly. In addition, those who are hearing-impaired cannot use IVR systems.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems associated with existing IVR systems.